Turn it down: A survey of Lansing's musical landscape

A benefit rock concert is being held for the son of a slain soldier at Mac’s Bar on Thursday.

Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew Carpenter died Feb. 19, of wounds received five days earlier in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. His wife, Crissie Carpenter, was one month away from giving birth to their first child, Landon, who arrived March 18.

All proceeds go to “Landon’s Fund.” The late Andrew Carpenter was born in Charlotte, and still has family in the Lansing area. His cousins Shawn Semen and Mark Semen (of the now-defunct Lansing rock bands MK Ultra Culkin and Gaytar, respectively) reunited their bands and organized the benefit.

Narc Out the Reds will kick things off at 9:30 p.m., followed by Fun Ender, Gaytar, MK Ultra Culkin, and The Plurals.

Pumpstock 2011, an all-day outdoor music fest, feature local folkies Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys, The Jill Jack Band (from Detroit) and national artists Levi Lowrey and Sonia Leigh. Leigh and Lowrey are Atlanta-based Americana recording artists for Southern Ground Records, a label operated by country music star Zac Brown.

Aside from live music, Pumpstock will also have food from Clint’s Hot Dogs and Maria's Tacos, a playground for the kids and more. Organizers suggest you bring chairs and blankets. In case of rain, it’ll move inside the Bailey School gymnasium.

While it’s still weeks away, those who plan to get U2 tickets may want to act somewhat fast: General admission is already sold out. However, other tickets are still available. The East Lansing show at Spartan Stadium happens June 26, more than a year after a medical drama forced the group to postpone: In May 2010, iconic lead singer Bono underwent emergency back surgery.

The enormous 360-degree tour stage set-up is so large only Spartan Stadium could host it. The last tour of this magnitude to hit East Lansing was when the Rolling Stones played Spartan Stadium back in 1994. However, this U2 show even beats that; Billboard Magazine recently dubbed this as the most successful tour of all time.

The hi-tech stadium tour, which requires a fleet of around 120 trucks to move it, features a cylindrical video system of interlocking LED panels and a massive steel structure (it looks like a gigantic space ship) rising 150 feet from the floor over a gargantuan stage with rotating bridges.

Influential Kansas City five-piece The Get Up Kids returned from a five-year hiatus in January with “There Are Rules,” the band’s fifth full-length album. Lansing fans can catch some of these new songs at The Loft Friday.

The Get Up Kids formed in 1995 and, with its poppy-angst sound, quickly established itself as a forerunner in the second wave emo scene.

For more information, visit www.thegetupkids.com. Also set to play is Saves the Day, the New Jersey band that debuted in 1998 with “Can’t Slow Down” and has been steadily releasing aggressive and energetic pop albums and EPs ever since.